Jamie Carragher has said sorry to Liverpool FC fans for the club’s FA Cup humiliation and insisted that off-field turmoil at Anfield is not an excuse for the team’s performances.

Liverpool FC were dumped out of the Cup in a third-round replay by Reading that went to extra-time before the Championship side chalked up a stunning 2-1 victory, claiming a home fourth round tie with Burnley.

For Liverpool FC it was just another blow in a shattering season that has seen disquiet on and off the pitch.

Only this week Tom Hicks jnr, son of the club’s co-owner, was forced to resign from the board after sending an obscene e-mail to a fan.

The club are still searching for a major cash injection that will get their new ground plans up and running again.

Meanwhile, on the pitch, there have been early exits from the Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup plus a desperately disappointing Premier League campaign.

Now Carragher has spoken for the rest of the squad, saying: "It was a very bad night for Liverpool and we can’t disguise that, we had to do more against a side from a lower league.

"We have to apologise for the way we performed. We have to give credit to Reading, hold our hands up. We all like to win but when you don’t, you have to be a good loser.

"We have to accept they deserved it. But, at the same time, we have got to look at ourselves and the way we performed was not acceptable.

"We’ve got a massive game coming up against Stoke now on Saturday. It will be very tough, as we played extra-time and we have got to show enormous character to come back.

"But that’s what we have got to do. We have got to move on but, at the same time, we have to say sorry to the fans who came to Anfield and all those watching on TV."

He added: "The stuff that goes on off the field has got nothing to do with it. I don’t think so anyway.

"If you say it has, you are only making excuses. Whatever goes on behind the scenes, we have got to do our own job."

Vice-captain Carragher now insists Liverpool FC must mount a final charge to save a shocking season.

He said: "We have got to do better and we have got to recover. There are still four months left of the season; it’s been tough and this result has made it a little bit tougher for us.

"But we are Liverpool. We can’t be where we are and we have got to improve. Liverpool Football Club demands certain standards. At the moment we are not reaching them and we know that but we have all got to come as one and stick together."